My CD Review of 'Paleo Festival Nyon 2012: Moyen Orient'

The Paleo Festival Village du Monde is part of an annual music festival
that takes place in Switzerland and features some of the greatest
musicians from around the world. This year (2012) the world music venue
focused on artists from the Middle East, all of whom performed at the
festival, including some from Lebanon, Israel, Egypt and other places in
the region.

1. Omar Souleyman "Hafer Gabrak Bidi" Loud, joyous, upbeat tune that
sounds like something that would play at an Arab wedding. (3:35)
2. Balkan Beat Box "Political F*ck" (EXPLICIT) Noisy, catchy, with lots
of explicatives (3:47)
**3. DAM "Mali Huriye' Palestinian band DAM singing a hip hop tune
about freedom. (3:41)
**4. Mashrou' Leila "Imm El Jacket" A gender bending song by the
Lebanese group Mashrou' Leila about a guy who is attracted to a girl
whom he thought was another guy (3:03)
5. Baba Zula "Temptation" African drums and beat along with repetitive
lyrics about temptation (4:32)
**6. Natacha Atlas "Taalet" Upbeat tune with Arabic lyrics by a singer
known for her fusion of Arabic and Western electronic music (3:13)
7. Trio Joubran "Nawwar" Instrumental piece by this Oud trio. Mid
tempo, slows down in middle (4:42)
8. Ibrahim Maalouf "Will Soon Be a Woman" A mellow instrumental by
Maalouf who is noted for playing Arabic music with quarter tones on the
trumpet (5:25)
**9. Avishai Cohen "Alon Basela" Beautiful, mellow tune by Israeli
singer/composer Avishai Cohen who is one of the most gifted bassists of
his generation. Lyrics in Hebrew. (4:07)
10. Egyptian Project "Anta Ana"Upbeat song with lots of Eastern
instruments blended with Arabic vocals (4:02)
11. Niyaz "Parishaan" Representing Iranian music in this venue, this new
track by Niyaz is sung in Farsi, Khorasani dialect (3:57)
12. Jack Is Dead & son Orchestre Iranian "The Wasp vs. The Hand" Catchy
tune with English lyrics; haunting back vocals (4:03)
**13. Yemen Blues "Eli" Israeli band featuring the fascinating voice of
Ravid Kahalani who, shaped by his origins as a Yemeni Jew, brilliantly
evokes the musical universe of his ancestors. . (5:46)
14. The Alaev Family "Sarsari" Hailing from Tajikistan and now based in
Israel, these dynamic musicians and drummers innovatively meld Central
Asian, Turkish, Persian, and Russian traditions as well as the Jewish
music of Bukhara (3:11)
15. Broukar "Mawal" Mesmerizing instrumental, slow and haunting, lots of
Oud playing, vocals in Arabic sound like a lamentation (6:31)